Marine hoist



March 20, 1962 H. KLlNGELE 3,025,984

MARINE HOIST Filed July 20, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet l F 3 INVENTOR.

Ill/60 KL INGE L E 3,025,984 MARINE HOIST Hugo Klingele, 658 Rockaway Turnpike, Lawrence, N.Y. Filed July 20, 1960, Ser. No. 44,106 12 Qlaims. (Cl. 214-394) This invention relates to marine hoists.

Marine hoists are commonly employed in marine yard operations for removing boats from the water and placing them on a shore location as for purposes of repairs or for winter storage. Such devices are well known in the art. Most common are self-propelled machines which are hydraulically operated and which may be described, in general terms, as comprising a frame supported from wheels and provided with hoisting means for lifting a boat.

Self-propelled machines are objectionable in that they are initially expensive and further involve high maintenance cost. Despite these objections, self-propelled devices are commonly employed because a four-wheel vehicle cannot be efficiently towed. Accordingly, it is one feature of this invention to provide a marine hoist which may conveniently be towed. Further, it is another feature of this invention to provide a two-wheeled marine hoist.

Still another feature of this invention is to provide a readily towed two-wheel hoist which, when loaded, does not distribute the weight of the load onto the towing vehicle.

Still another feature of this invention is to provide a convenient device characterized by the absence of obstructing structural members.

Still another feature of this invention is the provision of a marine hoist characterized by a minimum of moving parts.

Another feature of this invention is the provision of a marine hoist capable of one man operation.

Another feature of this invention is the provision of a I marine hoist requiring a minimum of power for operation.

Still other features and advantages of the present invention will, in part, be pointed out with particularity and will, in part, become obvious as the following description proceeds taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective showing of the apparatus of this invention with a towing vehicle and a typical boat serving as load shown in phantom.

FIG. 2 is a detail in perspective of the main supporting frame showing the rigging of the rear sling.

FIG. 3 shows in elevation the forward end of the apparatus and means for mounting on a towing vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a detailed showing, in plan, of a dual hoist arrangement.

FIG. 5 is a section taken along line 55 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the portion of the apparatus shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a detail of the hoist support shown in FIG. 4

taken along line 77 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 8 is a side view of FIG. 4 with the gearbox shown in phantom for purposes of clarity.

FIG. 9 shows pictorially the rigging of the front sling.

FIG. 10 shows schematically the rigging for the rear sling.

FIG. 11 is a perspective showing of the gear box employed in the hoist.

FIG. 12 is an end view of the gear box with a cover partially broken away to expose the gear train.

FIG. 13 is an end section taken along line 13-13 of FIG. 12.

The operation of the device in the conventional application is as follows:

In a typical marina operation in the nothern latitudes,

3,025,984 Patented Mar. 20, 1962 storage is a major function of the yard and a highly seasonal one. A large number of boats must be handled in a short time. Therefore, it is essential that the device employed be capable of fast and convenient operation.

The operator, of the tow vehicle identified in FIG. 1 by the reference numeral 101, backs the hoist 102 on to finger piers 103. The finger piers are conventional mooring slips. Slings 104a and 10417 are lowered into the water and the boat 165 floated over the slings.

Electric power is supplied from the yard source or by a portable generator 106, which may be mounted either on the hoist 102 or in the towing vehicle 101, as shown. The power is required for motors carried by the hoist mechanism, the latter being indicated generally by the numeral 10.

The slings 104a, 1041) are raised, as will be disclosed more fully hereinafter, and the hoist 102 towed away, by means of vehicle 161, to a storage point wherein the craft 1115 is lowered onto supporting blocks and the slings removed freeing the apparatus for further yard operation.

It will be noted that the center of gravity of the load is substantially close to the main support frame designated 111 of the hoist 102. Thus the towing vehicle 101 receives a minimum of load preferably just enough to provide traction.

When fully loaded, the hoist 102 can be turned in its own length. Being a true trailer, it can be jackknifed in position and maneuvered through close quarters by an experienced operator.

The three-point suspension renders the device self-adjusting so as to enable it to navigate rough terrain, whereas conventional four-wheel devices require auxiliary leveling means such as independent wheel suspensions.

In spite of its capacity for bulk and tonnage, the machine, while it is too wide for use on the usual yard roads, can however be readily crossed over such roads without hitting utility wires, usually strung on poles along such thoroughfares, because of its low overall height.

It is not necessary to employ the finger slips and the apparatus may be rolled down a ramp to which the boat has been floated.

One feature of this apparatus is that it is not dependent on the tide condition for operation. If the tide is out, the operator merely lets out additional cable on his sling. Each sling is independently controlled permitting the operator to trim the boat exactly as desired for best blocking at the storage site. It is to be noted that only one operator is required for the complete operation. It is somewhat surprising to note that boats as large as 35- foot can be readily handled by one man employing the device of this invention.

The apparatus is constructed from standard structural members thereby permitting construction on a minimum of expense.

The main frame 111 is formed of a pair ofstandard I-beams, 114a, 1141) (see FIG. 3) to which is welded a cross beam 116 extending at right angles through member 114a. There is provided a steel tube 118a which is bent in a sweeping arc. A second such tube 118!) extends through the support 1141) on the other side of the apparatus. Tubes 118a and 118i) terminate in a V-member 119 formed of two sections welded together and joined to a plate 12%). A vertical tube member 121 is welded to V-member 119. A rod 122 approximately 2 inches in diameter is welded to a base plate 123. Base plate 123 has welded to it a pair of support brackets 124a and 12%. A block 125 receives a nut-secured bolt 126 which rotatably mounts the block between plates 124a and 124b. At right angles to bolt 126, there is provided a nut-secured bolt 127 which passes through the block 125 and a pair of plates 128a, 128b. It will be noted that a portion of plate 128a is broken away to render plate 12812 visible in FIG. 3. Plates 123a and 12812 are welded in an upright position to base plate 131 Base plate 130 is in turn bolted to a pair of I-beams 131a and 131b mounted on the bed of the propulsion unit 1191. Thus a heavy 'duty universal joint is provided which prevents any twisting or bending action being transmitted to the frame.

It will be appreciated that mounting means other than 1-beams 131a and 1311) will be employed in accordance with the requirements of a particular apparatus.

One feature of this design is that it permits of the use of standard truck tires and wheels 149 on the hoist. is of importance in that it permits of relatively low initial cost and low upkeep expense as field service presents no problem.

In FIG. 2, there is shown details of the rearmost sling rigging. The rearmost portion of tube 118a is supported by a yoke 132 and strut 133 which is pinned to plate 134 welded to the member 114a. Pin 136 passing through the yoke and the end of tube 118a has mounted thereon a pulley 138 which is rotatable in a slit in the end of the tube. A sliding, pulley-carrying support 142 is carried by a member 11%. This support permits adjustment of the position of the rearmost sling 10412. A cable 144 extends from drum 22 over a frame-mounted pulley 146, over pulley 138, sliding-support-mounted pulley 148, a sling pulley 150, a second sliding-support-mounted pulley 152, and is anchored to dead-eye 154 also shown schematically in FIG. 10. The designations a and b are employed on the reference numerals to indicate the port and starboard sides, respectively, of the apparatus, although the numeral ltiib refers to the rear sling and 104a to the forward sling.

Referring now to FIGS. 4-8, there is shown in detail the winch-forming part of the hoist. In FIG. 4, there is shown frame 163 composed of four U-beams, 161-164, Welded together in a rectangular configuration. A central brace 165 is provided by an I-beam member. Member 165 carries a pair of support members 166 and 167. Gear boxes are mounted on the frame 160 by means of angle iron 65 (see FIG. 11). A torsion tube extends from each of the gear boxes 11 to a support 170 and is supported at its midpoint by its respective support member 166 or 167. It will be noted that support 166 is positioned to accept the thrust produced by the load of the rear sling, whereas support 167 is arranged to accept the downward thrust of the forward sling. Supported on torque tubes 20, and keyed to rotate therewith, there are provided four drums 22, 22a, 22b, and 220. As will be appreciated by reference to FIG. 9, drums 22b and 220 control sling 1114a by means of cables 174 and 174a which pass over sheaves 175 and 175a. The ends of the cables are secured to dead-eyes affixed to members 118 and 118a.

The supporting frame 160 is mounted from a saddle formed of standard steel members indicated generally by the reference numeral 180; the saddle is secured to members 118a and 118/) by means of U-bolts 182. A preferred gear box is disclosed in FIGS. l113 it being understood that other gear boxes may be employed.

As shown in FIG. 11, the gear train apparatus includes a fixed housing 111, having attached thereto a motor 12 which rotates a pulley 13 at 3,450 rpm. Pulley 13 drives pulley 14- through belt 15 to provide say, a 1:1 or 1:2 step down ratio.

Gear train assemblies of the type disclosed may be employed with structures of different load capacity by merely changing the pulley ratio of the belt drive. This feature limits the load that will be lifted without slippage of the belt. Thus a nominal 6-ton hoist with a structure having an actual safe capacity of about 12 tons fitted with a 1:1 pulley ratio will not lift more than 9 /2 tons. The same basic drive unit fitted with a 1:2 pulley ratio will readily lift 18 tons. Pulley id is keyed to shaft 16 which is connected to a gear train to be described more fully hereinafter. The other end of the gear train terminates This in a hollow shaft or tube 19 to which is affixed coaxial tubular shaft 20 which carries drums 22 and 22a.

Referring now to FIGS. 12 and 13, it will be noted that housing It) is formed out of standard U-beam members 23, Welded together to form a rectangular frame, generally designated 24. Structural steel plates 25 and 26 are bolted to opposite sides of the frame 24.

Supported by channel 23, there are provided a pair of bearing blocks 27 and 28. Needle bearings 29 and 30 are retained by the blocks 27 and 28. A shaft 16, supported in bearings 29 and 30, is keyed to worm gear 31. Worm gear 31, in turn, meshes with gear 32 in an 8:50 step down ratio. Pinion gear 32 and idler gear 34 are keyed to shaft 36. Shaft 36 is rotatably supported by bearings 37 and 38 which are retained by blocks 37a and 38a bolted to plates 26 and 25, respectively. An 18- tooth 2%" d., gear 34 meshes with an 8" d., 64-tooth gear 41) which, in turn, has a 2 /2" d., 15-tooth gear 42 welded to it. Gears 40 and 42 rotate on a fixed shaft 44 provided with stepped ends which are seated in bores formed in plates 25 and 26. The gear ratio reduces the rotational speed sufficiently to permit the use of sections of simple /s diameter hardened steel drill rod as bearings 46. Gear 42 meshes with gear 50.

Gear 50 is a standard 12%" x 1 7 thick 72-tooth gear provided with a 1% OD. center hole. The 3%" 0D. thick wall steel tube 19 is welded directly to the gear coaxial with the center hole. The tubing extends through an opening in plate 26. A shaft 54 is welded into plate 25 and supports the gear 50.

As may be observed by reference to FIG. 13, the shaft 54 is provided with a central bore into which is inserted a grease fitting 56 for purposes of lubricating the shaft. Spacer 58 spaces gear 50 from plate 25. Shaft 19 is cantilevered out from the housing and is supported therefrom by hardened steel rollers fitted between tube 19 and a sleeve 60 welded onto plate 26. The rollers 21 are axially retained by sleeve 20 which is pinned to shaft 19 by means of a pin 62. Rollers 21 are packed with grease.

The angle iron 65 provides convenient means for mounting the apparatus on a supporting structure.

Thus there has been described a rugged, readily constructed apparatus which does not require precise manufacturing tolerances and will operate over long periods with a minimum of servicing.

The dimensions of the various members recited are provided by way of illustration for better understanding of the apparatus and are not to be construed as limiting.

The pulley-belt drive in combination with the gear train provides a 900:1 ratio which, with a one-horse power drive motor, produces 16,000 inch-pounds of torque.

It has been found that by using a worm drive having a gear with teeth set at an angle of 20 or less, 14 /2 being preferred, self-braking is obtained. The disclosed unit has been found to be self-braking under loads of twelve tons dead weight.

Having thus disclosed the best embodiment of the invention currently contemplated;

What is claimed is:

1. A mooring hoist adapted to be towed by a propulsion vehicle, comprising upright frame means having a pair of spaced support members for forming a pair of hoist suspension points; a rotatable wheel member supporting each of said support members; a pair of spaced bar members having substantially horizontal portions projecting through said frame means, said bar members having arcuate downwardly converging end portions joined to each other so as to form a mutual junction comprising a third point of suspension; a pair of bar supporting tension members each secured to said frame means above said bars and to one of said bars at the other ends of said bars for upwardly supporting said bars; universal joint coupling means secured to said mutual junction adapted to secure said bars to a means of propulsion whereby said frame may be towed upon said wheel member; a pair of adjustable sling means each mounted between said bars on opposite sides of said frame means and adapted to be passed under the hull of a vessel for suspending, lifting and lowering the vessel; and sling control means for separately adjusting the height of each of said sling means.

2. The hoist of claim 1 wherein said bars are tubular members.

3. A mooring hoist adapted to be towed by a propulsion vehicle comprising: frame means having a pair of spaced upright members and an inverted-U shaped topconnecting cross member; a pair of frame carrying support wheels each carrying one of said upright members and forming a pair of hoist suspension points; a pair of vessel supporting bars each projecting through one of said upright members, said bars having arcuate downwardly converging end portions terminating on one side of the frame means in a common junction equidistant from each of the wheels so as to form a third suspension point; a pair of bar supporting tension members each secured to said upright members above said bars and to one of said bars at the other ends of said bars for upwardly supporting said bars; universal joint coupling means secured to the junction of said bars whereby said frame means may be towed upon said wheel members; a pair of adjustable sling means each mounted between said bars on opposite sides of the frame means and adapted to be passed under the hull of a vessel for suspending, lifting and lowering the vessel between said bars; and bar mounted actuating means for separately adjusting the height of each of said sling means.

4. A mooring hoist as in claim 3 wherein said bars are tubes which are downwardly and inwardly arced from said frame means toward the junction before terminating in the common junction.

5. A mooring hoist as in claim 3 wherein said actuating means include a pair of motors each mounted on one of said bars and a pair of winch means each connected to one of said motors, and wherein said sling means each include a sling member and winch pulley means connected to one of said winch means, whereby said motors are each adapted to control the height of one of the sling members so as to control the trim of the vessel hoisted.

6. A mooring hoist as in claim 3 wherein said actuating means include a motor support structure mounted between said bars, wherein said winch means each include a winch shaft rotatably extending between said bars and a pair of winch drums keyed to the winch shaft, and wherein said winch pulley means each include a winch pulley system associated with one of said bars and cable wire connecting the winch pulley system with one of said winch drums.

7. A mooring hoist as in claim 3 wherein each of said actuating means includes a bar mounted step down gear train assembly connecting each of said motors to said winch shafts.

8. A mooring hoist adapted to be towed by a propulsion vehicle comprising: frame means having a pair of spaced upright members and an inverted-U forming top-connecting cross-member, a pair of frame carrying support wheels each carrying one of said upright members and forming a pair of hoist suspension points, a pair of vessel-supporting horizontal bars each projecting through one of said upright members and terminating on one side of the frame means in a downward arc forming a common junction equidistant from each of the wheels so as to form a third suspension point, universal joint coupling means secured to the junction of said bars whereby said frame means may be towed upon said wheel members; a pair of adjustable sling means each mounted between said bars on opposite sides of said frame means and adapted to be passed under the hull of a vessel for suspendingly lifting and lowering the vessel; bar mounted actuating means for separately adjusting the height of each of said sling means, said actuating means including a pair of motors each mounted on one of said bars and a winch shaft connected from each motor across said bars, said actuating means including a bar mounted step down gear train assembly connecting said winch shafts and each of said motors, said step down gear train assemblies including a housing, a motor actuated first pulley wheel, a second pulley wheel, a pulley belt connecting said second pulley wheel to said first pulley wheel in preselected ratio; and a winch shaft driven by said second pulley whereby the belt slips when a load exceeds a predetermined value as determined by the preselected pulley ratio.

9. A mooring hoist adapted to be towed by a propulsion vehicle comprising frame means having a pair of wheel supports, a pair of spaced supporter bars projecting through said frame means said bars having arcuate end portions downwardly converging and terminating in a common junction on one side of said frame, vehicle coupling means secured to said common junction, adjustable vessel supporting sling means suspended between said bars, adjustment means for said sling means including a motor and a step down gear assembly secured to said motor and one of said bars, said gear assembly including a bar supported housing, a plurality of meshingly engaged step down gear pairs and an output gear, bearing means cantilevered from said housing for rotatably mounting said output gear, an output shaft secured to said output gear and extending through said housing, outwardly extending bearing sleeve means secured to said housing and coaxially supporting said output shaft.

10. A hoist as in claim 9 wherein said gear assembly further comprises a plurality of roller rods bearingly plclistioned between said sleeve means and said output s a t.

11. A hoist as in claim 9 wherein a shaft sleeve is secured to said output shaft for axially retaining said rods.

12. A hoist as in claim 9 wherein said gear assembly includes pulley means connected to said motor for actuating said step down gear pairs.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

